cg3russia - Political Culture

(O.B.)

Geographic Setting

Largest and one of the coldest countries
Borders the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, China, and many other vastly different countries
Desire to obtain a warm water port by conquering countries between Russia and the sea
Cities are located inland
Russia's abundant natural resources (oil, gas, timber) are largely locked in Siberia

This picture shows that the bodies of water near Russia are far north and very cold, or they are seas that do not connect directly to the Atlantic

This article highlights the reasons why Russia invaded Gerogia including Georgia's resistance to russian rule, Russia history of tension with the Truks, and Russia's want of a warm water port
Today, Russia needs a warm water port to retain influence of the shipping of oil and gas from the Middle East to the Western nations
Currently, they are the second largest exporter of oil leading to them having a vital interest in the shipping of pertroleum products

Whereas before Russia sought a warm water port earlier for shipping of products like textiles and food, they are still seeking one for the exportationg of oil

Eastern Orthodoxy

Early in it's history, Russia made ties to Constantinople and adopted the Eastern Orthodox religion
Russia valued a strong state that could protect their geographical vulnerabilities
The principles of separation of church and state never developed
Under Communism, practicing religion was forbidden, but the Russian people still accepted the government's control

The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow, built in 1561, is a Russian Orthodox church that remains as federal property of the Russian Federation

This article discusses the expansion of church over state including the top court's banning of a regional branch of Jehovah's Witnesses
Current President Dmitry Medvedev announced an initiative to appoint Orthodox chaplains to all army units
This is the first year where public school students have the option to study any religion other than Orthodoxy or none
In Russia, you are only considered to be truly Russian if you are also Orthodox; these people call themselves "russki" while those who're Russian but of a different religion are called "rossianie"
The church is expanding its horizons with a seminary in France, a church in Thailand, a planned church in Germany, and the Patriarch's trip around Africa this year
This article shows how the church is seeking out more power, and how the Russian state is willing to comply
As the number of secularists has grown with time, there has been a greater demand for the separation of church and state from the Russian people, but the will of the President and Prime Minister has prevailed over the people's will

Equality of Result (contrasted to equality of opportunity)

The value of equality emerged form the Communist domination
Russia remains an egalitarian nation where many of its people resent differences in wealth
This environment has not been conducive to the development of capitalism

In this article, Russia denounces the US dollar and expresses confidence with their own economic system
Russia's economy has recently taken a turn for the worst with the collapse of oil and commodities prices in addition to the government spending billions to defend the ruble
Prime Minister Putin remained firm on his point that there should be multiple currencies for the global economy and that we should limit of dependence on the US dollar

Despite the economic recession, Russia has refused to change its ways to match that of the capitalistic United States which not only emphasizes Russia's resistance to Western influence, but also illustrates their hostility to the US's system of "equality of opportunity"

Hostility Toward the Government

Best illustrated in the people's radical response to Mikhail Gorbachev's idea of glasnost (freedom of speech and press) in the 1980s, the Russian people have consistently displayed a hostility toward the government on which they depend
Years of repression during the Communist regime have led to a general feeling of resentment toward the government

Shown above is an image from a protest against the government's actions taken in regards to the recent economic crisis

7,000 protestors in Kalinigrad demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Putin and the regional governnor, Georgy Boos
All main media sources ignored this protest save for the blogs, the vast majority of whom believe that this protest will help produce positive change in the region
The police remained surprisingly friendly toward the protestors

In this article, the Russian people are not only protesting the government but also the government-controlled media
It also emphasizes how commonplace this type of rally has become because the police are not quick to take action

The Importance of Nationality

Long-held stereotypes have caused discriminations based on nationality to develop
Russians often revere the Baltic people
Russian generally dislike the Muslim-Turkic people whose governments have passed laws discouraging Russians from living within their borders
Anti-Semitism, prevalent in tsarist Russia, remains today

Above is an image of a national youth group, Nashi, created by Putin to install pro-Russian views into its youth

The number of hate crimes in Russia is increasing, most of them racially based
The bias-motivated violence is directed at non-Slavic nationalities and those who defend hate crime victims
There has been a sharp increase recently in attacks on migrant workers from Central Asia - countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union - because many are in Russia without proper documentation and risk deportation if they report the crimes
Other groups frequented by attacks are Africans, Asians, Jews, Muslims, Roma, and human and gay rights activists caused by neo-Nazi violence
As hate crimes increase, the number of prosecutions has failed to rise, and many prosecutors and courts tend to dismiss these types of cases
Many political leaders have only recently recognizsed this as a significant problem facing Russian society

This article shows how the Russian people are still extremely nationalistic to the point of violence
Many old discriminations, such as anti-Smitism, are still strong today
The government still has yet to take considerable responsibility for dealing with these crimes